Albert price



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

A. PRICE.

MACHINE POR TRBATING RAMIE.

No. 589,369. Patented Aug. 31,1897.

(No Model.) I I. 2 sheets-sheet 2. A. PRICE.

I MACHINE FOR TREATING RAMIE. No. 589,369. Patented Aug. 31,1897.

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- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERTYPRICE, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO OI'IAS. D. MCLURE,LAVRENOE D. KINGSLAND, AND EDVARD D. MEIER, TRUSTEES, OF

SAME PLACE.

MACHINE FOR TREATING RAMIE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 589,369, dated August31, 1897.

I Application filed August l2, 1896. Serial No. 602,532. (No model.)

Be it known t-hat I, ALBERT PRICE, a citizen of the United States,residing at the city of St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Machines for TreatingRamie, of whih the following is a full, clear, and exact description,reference being had to the'accolnpanying drawings, forming part of thisspecificaro tion.

My invention relates to certain improvements in machines for removingthe bark from the liber of runie-stocks and my invention consists infeatures of novelty hereinafter fully described, and pointed out in theclaims.

Figure I is a detail vertical section illustrating my invention. Fig. IIis a side view. Fig. III is a detail section taken on line III III, Fig.II. Fig. IV is a section taken on line IV IV, Fig. V. Fig. V is a topview showing the gearing of the machine.

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents the frame of the machine,supporting a housing 2, in which are journaled the shafts 3, 4, 5, 6a,7, Sa, and 9n of rollers 3, 4, 5, 6,7, 8, and 9.

The roller 3 is provided with a driving-pulley l0, and the rollers 3, 4,5, and G are connected by a train of gearing 11, which causes them torevolve in `opposite directions, as shown by the arrows, Fig. I.

The roller 6 is provided with a second gearwheel 12, that meshes withapinion 13 on the roller 7. The roller 7 is geared to the roller V8 bypinions 14, andthe roller 8 is geared to the roller 9 by pinions 15.rlhe roller 7 is longitudinally corrugated, as shown in Fig. I.

The roller 6 is provided with a series of eircumferential grooves, asshown in Figs. I and III, and this roller has a slight endwise movementimparted to it by means of a lever 16, pivoted at 17 to the frame'of themachine. One end of the lever is forked and is provided with pins thatfit in a groove of a collar 18 on the shaft of the kroller 6, and theother end ofthe lever straddles a cam-disk 19 of the shaft of one of thefans of the machine.

2O represents a stationary bridge-block 1ocated between the rollers (iand 7, as shown in Fig. I, and the face of which next to the roller 7 ismade concave. This bridge-block has a corner or edge 2l, over which theramiestocks are bent and broken in the operation of the machine andguides the material onto v the roller G.

"22 represents a feed-belt passing around the roller 9 and around aroller 23, secured to the frame 1. At the delivery end of the machineare two belts 24 and 25, between which the clean fiber passes as itleaves the machine. `The belt 24 passes around the roller 3 and around aroller 26, journaled in standards 27, secured to the frame 1, and thebelt 25 passes -around the roller 4 and around a roller 28, journaled inthe standards 27.

' 30re presents a fan located above the rollers 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, and31 a fan located beneath the rollers 4, 5, G, and 8. Each fan has acasing 30"L and an exhaust-opening 32, and each fan is formed withblades 33, the edges of which pass in close `proximity to the rollers,and each fan is further provided with brushes 34, located behind theblades 33.

The operation of the machine is as follows:

The machine being'set in motion, the ramiestocks are placed on the belt22 and are carried in between the corrugated roller 7 and thebridge-block 20, the stocks being mashed and broken as they pass betweenthe roller and the bridge-block. As the stocks issue from between theroller and the bridge-block they are caught by the blades 33 and turnedover the edge'21 of the bridge-block, which further breaks and mashesthem, causing the bark to be broken, and the brushes act to remove thebroken bark, the removed bark being carried by the air-current throughthe exhaust 32 of the fan. The ramie next passes down between therollers 6 and 5, and as it does so is further mashed and broken bycompression between the two rollers and by the reciprocation of thecircumferentially-grooved roller 6, which gives a rubbing action on theramie transversely of its line of movement. As the ralnie issues frombetween the rollers 6 and 5 it is acted uponby the blades and `brushesof the lower fan, causing the bark to be further broken and removed, andthe ramie now passes up between the rollers 5 and 4, where it is againacted upon bythe blades and brushes of the upper fan, and from here thefiber, which has by this time become suf- IOU iiciently clean, passesout between the belts l cumferentially-grooved roller, a feed roller 24and 25.

By providing an upper and a lower fan the ramie is directed in itscourse between the rollers, and both sides of the material are actedupon by the blades and brushes to remove the bark.

I claim as my inventionl. In a machine for treating ramie, thecombination of a series of rollers between which the material is passed,a fan having a casing provided with an exhaust-opening and located abovethe rollers, and a fan having a easing provided with an exhaust-openingand located beneath said rollers, said fans being provided with meansfor removing` the bark as the material passes through the machine,substantially as set forth. l

2. In a machine for treating ramie, the combination of a series ofrollers between which the material is passed, a fan having a casing andlocated above the rollers, and a fan having a casing and located beneaththe rollers, each fan being provided with blades and brushes,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. A machine for treating ramie comprising a corrugated roller, acircumferentiallygrooved roller, a bridge-block having anupwardly-projecting breaking edge and located between the corrugatedroller and the' cirand belt, the discharge rollers .and belts, a rollerlocated between the circulnferentiallygrooved roller and the dischargerollers and belts, and the upper and lower fans, located respectivelyabove and beneath the rollers; each fan having beating-blades andbrushes and a casing provided with an exhaust-open ing; substantially asdescribed.

'4. A machine for treating ramie comprising a corrugated roller, acircumferentiallygrooved roller, a bridge-block having an upwardly-projectin g breaking edge and located between the corrugated roller and thecircumferentiallygrooved roller, the pivoted lever connected at one endwith the shaft of the circumferentially-grooved roller and on the otherend with a cam-disk, a feed roller and belt, discharge rollers andbelts, a roller located between the circumferentiallygrooved roller andthe discharge rollers and belts, and the upper and lower fans locatedrespectively above and beneath the rollers, each fan havingbeating-blades and brushes and a casing provided with anexhaustsopening; substantially as described.

ALBERT PRICE.

In presence of- It. S. KNIGHT, STANLEY S'roNER.

